The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed bilateral cooperation with King of Jordan Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, who travelled to Astana on an official visit last week.

"We view Jordan as a key member of the international community; one playing an important role in the Middle East and the Arab world. In February next year, it will have been 25 years since diplomatic relations were established between Kazakhstan and Jordan, and we meet on the eve of this date. For a quarter of a century, we have developed our relationships in various areas and established a trustful dialogue. This is all due to the warm attitude of King Abdullah to Kazakhstan. As a result of the far-sighted policy of the King of Jordan, the country continues to maintain the status of an oasis of security and stability in the Middle East, and in the future, I think we are ready for the mutually beneficial relations between our states to continue. Most importantly, Kazakhstan considers Jordan and its people a fraternal, close state," said Nursultan Nazarbayev, speaking to the press after the talks in Akorda.

According to him, both countries are currently making efforts to activate trade and investment relations. "The main problem for the development of exports and imports is the high cost of transportation, and therefore it is necessary to improve the transport and logistics channels. Because of this, the volume of trading is not high. During the talks, we talked about this. Now there is a new road Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran which is helping us improve our relations," said the President.

The head of state outlined a number of priorities in trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. "The biggest one is agriculture. In this area, we have a great potential for development. For example, Kazakhstan can export agricultural products to Jordan, and Jordan can export vegetables and fruits to us in winter and spring through railroads, and so on," stated Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Today we have signed a number of documents," stressed the President of Kazakhstan. It should be noted that during the official visit of the King of Jordan, a cooperation agreement was signed in order to combat terrorism, organised crime and the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, among other issues.